Cassie, Wendy, and Erica: the Secrets of Year Six
by mysterywriter94
Summary: I'm starting my sixth year at Hogwarts. I have the perfect boyfriend, the perfect friends, perfect life basically. Then, I noticed Wendy was exptremely pale. And thin, too. Fredrick, my boyfriend starts becoming overprotective. Bruises everywhere...R/R!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Harry Potter or the places used in it. All of that belongs to J.K. Rowling. The plot and OC characters are mine, however.

Chapter 1

_All those girls are so beautiful_, I thought as I turned a page in the magazine. I looked plain and boring compared to them. Not to mention my extremely pale skin. Of course, I was not given much time to dwell on it.

"Cassie! Get downstairs right now! You're going to be late for school!" I sighed, tossed the magazine aside, and grabbed my heavy trunk, prepared to lug it all the way to China if that is what it took to get to school. Yeah, that's right. I go to school with a trunk. I don't go to any ordinary school. I go to this little crazy school called Hogwarts. When I turned eleven in June, I received a letter from that strange place saying I had gotten accepted there. My mom was proud of me; apparently, she had attended that school too. My dad, on the other hand, was clueless. Mom told me that he was a Muggle, which is a sort of normal person, I guess. As if I know anything about normal. I paused at the top of the stairs, thinking of my first day at the train station…

The clock was about to strike eleven a.m., and I was told to run through a barrier to get to my destination. I closed my eyes as I sprinted forward, afraid of smashing into it. Nothing happened. I made it to the other side safely. In front of me was a large scarlet engine that said HOGWARTS EXPRESS. I shakily made my way to the only compartment left. I was so scared I barely noticed when two girls sat next to me without asking.

"Hi there," the blonde one said, smiling at me. I nervously returned her friendly greeting. She seemed friendly. Maybe this school won't be so bad after all. She continued talking. "My name is Erica. What's yours?"

"My name's Cassie," I answered shyly. The girl with brown hair said nothing; she just stared out the window. I watched her curiously for a moment before returning my attention to Erica.

"Are you a first year like us?" she asked me. I nodded, and asked a question of my own. "What's her name?" I pointed at the silent girl next to her. A tear streaked down her face, and she turned away from me.

"Oh, her name is Wendy," she said, and stopped talking suddenly. Questions bubbled to my lips, but I knew now wasn't the time to ask them. Instead, I decided to get to know Erica better.

"Are both of your parents magical?" I whispered, afraid to disturb Wendy. She was quietly crying next to Erica, but didn't have a tissue with her.

"No, but my mom is," Erica responded. The train had been traveling for some time now, and I started to wonder if we will be fed any lunch. I stared out the window and watched the countryside flash by for a bit. I felt ashamed that I had nothing to talk about with this stranger, and she was so kind. She didn't seem to mind the silence, though, and took this time to look through one of the spell books we had been required to buy in a place called Diagon Alley. She happened to be reading a basic spell book that looked as if it was in the rain several times.

"My mom is a witch too," I said after two long minutes of silence. Erica nodded her eyes still on the page of proper wand movements. That reminded me of my own wand, and I dug it out of my skirt pocket to examine it. Redwood with a unicorn tail, the man had told me when I had purchased it. I must have waved a dozen wands before he said this was the right wand for me. I still wasn't sure how he knew that at the time. Wendy had calmed down by now, but she remained very quiet. After some more time had passed, a trolley came by bearing sweets I had never heard of, except those strange jellybeans that came in outrageous flavors such as grass and pepper. I tried one of them, but I spit it out because it tasted like rotten eggs. Erica found some wizard trading cards. She said they were Chocolate Frog Cards, but I only caught a glimpse of the frog before it jumped out of the window. My card happened to be a favorite of many collectors'. It was a picture of a famous wizard named Dumbledore. The date of his death was over ten years ago. I smiled at his picture and was surprised to see that he smiled back at me. I turned to show Erica, but when she looked, he was still again and staring blankly at the ceiling.

"All the pictures move, Cassie," she told me uninterestedly as she opened another card. It was starting to get dark now; I suggested that we change into our robes before we got in trouble on our first day. Most of the students had to take carriages that drove themselves to the castle, but Erica, Wendy, and I had to cross the lake by boat with a large man that called himself Hagrid. Just before we got into our boat, Wendy paused.

"Did you see those horses?" she asked me hesitantly. It was the first time she had ever spoken to me all day. Naturally, I answered her question without missing a beat.

"No, I don't. Are you seeing things?" I peered into the gloomy evening weather; there was nothing unusual about the last carriage, except that it moved by itself.

"I see them too," Erica commented. I wondered why I couldn't see them and they could. Maybe I needed glasses. We rode in the boat to the other side of the lake without anything else mysterious happening. Wendy retreated to being her silent, stony, self-staring at the water below us the whole time. Finally, we made it inside the castle. An woman came and introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She was a sharp, fierce woman in emerald green robes that draped the floor. Her black pointy hat stood tall and proud above her head, and I half expected it to take flight and turn into a bird.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began after the usual formalities of introduction. "This is where you'll be staying to learn from September to June, and hopefully learn well. You all will be Sorted into four Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each House has a dormitory where you shall sleep in at night, and can spend your time there between classes during the day. Throughout the year, every member of your House has the opportunity to gain, or to lose, House points. Good behavior can win you points, but bad decisions can make you lose them, or worse. So remember, choose wisely on the path you want to take. Let the Sorting begin." She turned and led us to a great hall with a ceiling that I had never seen before. Everyone gasped in awe at the sight of it.

"It looks like the outside," Wendy said in surprise. "It must be bewitched. Have you read _Hogwarts: A History_ yet? It's very fascinating, you should take a look." I contemplated her as we crowded in a little clump and stared at the older students; this was the most she has ever said since I met her. Some of the older kids gazed back at us in amusement, but most of them hardly paid any attention to us. They must be used to new arrivals. Professor McGonagall started calling out names. When she called out somebody, that person would shyly step up to the stool with the hat and put it on. The hat was black, pointy, and very large. It didn't fit anybody. The talking hat would think for a moment, then shout out the name of a House for everyone to hear. The clapping happened accordingly to which House was chosen. Erica and Wendy both ended up being Gryffindors. At last, it was my turn. My knees shook as I walked to the stool, but I kept my face blank. The hat was placed over my head. It covered my eyes completely. I stared into the darkness for a moment, waiting.

"Let's see here…" the hat said. "You are very brave, and you have a bright mind. You most certainly don't belong in Slytherin, you're such a sweet girl…" I nervously waited, saying nothing. How did the Sorting Hat know all of this?

"Why, I can see into your head of course," he answered as if it could read my mind. "I think you belong in…GRYFFINDOR!" There was a roaring cheer, and I took off the hat to follow the noise to my destination. I sat down between Erica and Wendy. That was how my Hogwarts year began, just like that.

I smiled at the memory as I came down the stairs. It was hard to believe that I was already starting my sixth year at Hogwarts, it felt more like my third. My mom was waiting at the bottom of the landing, looking very unhappy.

"Cassie, what were you doing up there? You're going to be late," she scolded me. I sighed and dragged my trunk to the car. My boyfriend would be waiting for me at the train station, and I bounced excitedly in my seat the whole way, my nose pressed to the window. At last, my mom pulled into King's Cross. I practically fell through the car door trying to get to him. My boyfriend, Fredrick, was by the barrier waiting for me. I ran into his arms, and he kissed me on the lips.

"I was starting to think you were planning to skip your first day," he teased me. He bit my ear gently. "I tried calling you all summer but you never answered. What happened?"

"We were planning not to talk too often remember?" I said, crossing the barrier with him.

"Yes, I do, but I just couldn't go a second without you," he answered. Normally I would be flattered, but the way he said it sounded almost…possessive. Or obsessive. Whichever it was, it set me on the edge slightly.

"Did I say something wrong?" His expression looked slightly wounded. Even on a train full of people, and him making faces, Fredrick still looked gorgeous.

"No, no" I said, too quickly. I played off the lie by smiling a little and shaking my dark red curls that I took such pride in. For once, he believed the lie. Something in his face seemed very off, that made me sense that something wasn't right. We finally found Erica and Wendy in a compartment near the back of the train, and sat down near them. I was very close friends with them now, but I noticed Wendy was wearing long sleeves in warm weather, an unusual thing, and I would have commented on it, but then I remembered that sometimes she got cold easily. She was thinner than I am, and I am skinny for my age. In fact, she looked a little _too_ thin. Her face was pale and drawn, and I thought I could make out a few ribs poking out through her rib cage.

"Wendy," I said slowly, "Is something wrong?"

"No, of course not," she responded, folding her arms across her chest as she spoke, "Why would there be?"

"You look so thin and pale, though. Have you been stressing out?" I stared at her with true concern, but hers didn't meet mine head-on. Her confidence had faltered. I looked over at Erica, she seemed to be there as some kind of support for her.

"How has your summer been Erica? I heard you took a job for the past three months." Fredrick said to break the silence. He took my hand in his and rubbed it a little; it was cold in here. Erica nodded. "Yes, I did, thank you for asking. It wasn't much, just the early morning paper route. I got the money though. Five Galleons an hour is a fairly good pay for delivery." Wendy murmured an agreement, staring off into space. It concerned me that she was so pale and thin, I wondered what was going on. There was definately something she wasn't telling me. As we rode the carriage together to the castle, I had a very bad feeling that there were more secrets that I had never known existed waiting for me behind those walls.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, my last night's dreads were confirmed. It was the first day of classes, and breakfast was served at seven in the morning. I didn't come downstairs until almost eight. Class didn't start for half an hour. I rubbed my eyes and sat down across from Wendy. She was quietly sitting at the table and not eating anything.

"Wendy, aren't you going to eat something?" Erica said. She offered her a piece of toast from where she sat.

"No, I'm not hungry," she answered evasively, not meeting her eyes. I sensed that this conversation had happened before. Wendy took a piece of toast and nibbled on it, but she didn't seem to enjoy it. The Gryffindor table was generally quiet, with some murmured conversation here and there. Some of the students had taken advantage of the early hour and went over their schedules. I assumed that they were either extremely eager, or that they were first years anxious to start the day. They were small and nervously looking around themselves every few seconds, as if expecting someone to come up behind and attack. I left Wendy to her troubles and walked up to the two boys some distance away.

"Hi there!" I said in the friendliest voice that I had. One of them shrieked and jumped about a foot in the air. The other cowered and whimpered behind an empty plate.

"P-please…don't hurt us! We'll do anything!" he cried. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't hurt anybody," I reassured the small student. The two first years began to relax slightly, but remained slightly wary of me.

"Where are those Slytherin bullies?" asked the boy who had screamed earlier. At that moment, the bell rang for class to start, and I didn't see Fredrick anywhere. I called for him, and he appeared at my side.

"Fredrick, I'm worried about Wendy. Do you know what's wrong with her?" I asked him as we walked to Charms. He shook his head, looking unconcerned.

"There's no need to worry. It's none of our business," he replied, staring straight ahead.

"But, Fredrick-" He grabbed my wrist and twisted it. I cried out in pain as I looked into his eyes. They flashed in anger, and seemed to be an off-black rather than their usual blue-green.

"I said," he growled, "there's no need to worry, Wendy." I gasped, and nodded in understanding. He let go at once, and I rubbed my wrist as I sat down in my seat. Nobody had seen what had just happened. Erica sat next to me, and Wendy was nowhere to be seen.

"Wendy has Charms with us today right?" I whispered to her. Fredrick was hanging on to my every word. She pulled a piece of parchment out of her bag and started writing. Her hand flew across the page, barely stopping for punctuation and to move to the next line. Her quill was a blur of blue and gray feathers. As Professor Flitwick started the class with a general review from last year, she finished at last and passed the sheet of paper to me. I kept it out of Fredrick's sight. I scanned the parchment quickly, in case Professor Flitwick came by to take it away.

_I've been watching Wendy over the summer, and I'm more worried than ever about her. She's had some issues at home. And then she began obsessing over her weight. She was never fat to begin with, but that's what she started to think. I tried changing her way of thinking, but by then it was too late. She starved herself all the time, and exercised at the gym at least an hour a day. I took her to a Healer, but he could do nothing to help. Magic and potions weren't things to fix this problem. She's wasting away, and she's hurting herself. Don't you see? That's why I'm with her all the time. I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you, but I have been trying to help Wendy this whole time. I think there's only one chance left for her…I'm going to the Headmaster._

My eyes widened as I took in this new information. Wendy, obsessing over her weight? Starving herself? Exercising all the time? It sounded like something I had read about a long time ago, a week before I started my third year at Hogwarts…

"Cassie, look what it says in this magazine," Erica said. She handed the article to me. I read it slowly, my mouth falling open with shock as I took in each horrifying fact. It was a young girl's story on some weird disease called **anorexia**. The worst part was, it wasn't a disease of the body, but of the _mind_.

I thought about the symptoms I had read in the article, and looked back to Erica's note. They were nearly identical. Horror swept through me as I realized what this meant. Wendy was anorexic, and she needed help. Before it was too late. I quickly glanced at Fredrick, and put the parchment away before he asked to see it. I bumped my wrist on the table, and sucked in a breath as it made it hurt worse than it already did. It was starting to throb; a bruise had formed there already. I settled further into my seat and paid attention to the lecture.

"Now class," Professor Flitwick was saying," Who can tell me where Miss Doadad is? I was sure she would be here on the first day. She's listed in the register…" He leaned over a long sheet of paper, and toppled over when he had accidently leaned too far. He got back to his feet and climbed back up his stack of books to see everybody. Normally, I would have laughed at this, but his mentioning Wendy made me resist the temptation. I looked around to see if they knew the answer to his question, but all I got in return were confused faces and questioning eyes.

_Where are you, Wendy?_ I thought. Erica raised her hand.

"I think I know where she is, Professor," she called out. He looked at her.

"Yes, Miss…?"

"Wutherheimer," she said.

"Very well. Miss Vandwell, you may accompany her to wherever Miss Doadad may be located." Erica and I left the classroom in search of her. I was so busy listening to Professor Flitwick that I didn't notice we were being followed. But Erica did.

"Cassie, I don't think your boyfriend was invited to come along," she stated in an undertone. I turned around to see Fredrick had been following us this whole time.

"Cassie, come here for a minute," he called. I skipped to his side at once. He stared into my eyes for a few minutes, saying nothing at first. I started to say something, but he interrupted me.

"What did I say about this?" he asked, becoming angry. I watched as his eyes darkened again, and he snatched my other wrist. He squeezed it harder than the right one, prolonging the torture. I gritted my teeth, refusing to cry. At last, he let go of me, and I let my other hurt wrist hang like deadweight at my side. Erica appeared to have noticed nothing, so I ventured over to where she waited.

"What was that all about?" she interrogated when Fredrick was out of earshot, and out of sight. I shrugged, and we continued on our way. Erica lead me through corridor after corridor, turning at random spots and occasionally taking the stairs. Up and up we went, until I became so dizzy that I had to rest for a minute on the fourth floor.

"Let's check the hospital wing. She might be in there," she suggested when I was ready to move again. It didn't take long to find the place, its white sheets and metal beds were hard to miss. The room was completely empty except for the one at the very end to the right. Erica approached the bed surrounded by curtains. I followed her, afraid of what we might find. She yanked the curtains back to find…nothing. The bed was empty. I swore under my breath.

"Where is she? I can't be responsible for her all the time!" Erica stormed out of the room in a huff.

"Erica, she's my friend too. I'm also supposed to watch out for her."

"I know, but if you have any idea the things we have been through over the summer, you'd understand." Erica walked away, leaving me with that. At that time, I was thinking about how tired Wendy was that morning, the fact she had never followed us to class, and was thin and bony enough to be knocked over by the lightest of winds.

"Oh God," I said, and ran for the Great Hall. I ran up to the doors to find out that they were locked. I pulled out my wand.

"Alohamara!" I yelled. Nothing happened. I cried out in frustration and slammed my hand against the door. I tried again, and heard a click. The door swung open. I burst through to find Wendy unconscious on the floor, barely breathing. My eyes filled up with tears. She looked so weak…

"Help! Somebody help!" I shouted, tears streaming down my face. Nobody had heard me. I yelled again, all to no avail. I broke down into tears, just as I felt a hand on my shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Cassie, what are you doing out of class?" asked Professor Longbottom, the only teacher who addressed me by name because I'm familiar with the Weasleys. He is one of my only links to what was happening to the outside Wizard World. A stray tear fell onto the floor and in the silence you could hear a small splash on the marble tiles. I straightened up to get a good look at him.

"I was instructed to located Wendy and bring her to class, and I found her here. I think she needs to be sent to St. Mungo's or maybe a Muggle hospital," I reported. Professor Longbottom carefully examined Wendy, checking for broken bones and her airways.

"I may be no Healer, but she seems healthy to me," he said, and started to leave the Great Hall. Wendy coughed weakly and struggled to sit up. Even that action seemed difficult for her, but she managed to prop herself up on her elbows and look around.

"Cassie…" she said, making it sound like a question. She was starting to lose her grip. "I need help." She collapsed into my arms. Professor Longbottom turned around and helped me carry her to the hospital wing. She weighed hardly anything, and that worried me more than ever.

"Wendy's a skinny little thing," he commented lightly. He stopped talking when he noticed my concerned expression. We set her on a random bed that had clean sheets on it and were getting ready to leave when Madame Pomfrey interrupted us.

"Neville, what are you doing with this student in the hospital wing?" she demanded. Her hawk like gaze pierced right through him.

"Poppy," he started. I watched them with a mild interest, growing impatient. Don't they know Wendy could be dying right now, in that bed? Luckily, Madame Pomfrey happened to look in my direction at that moment and noticed Wendy behind me.

"Ah," she said softly. "A patient. I'll see what I can do with her. Do you know what the problem is?" I quickly glanced at Madame Pomfrey and looked away.

"She looks extremely thin and pale, so you may want to find some way to bring a Healer by here later. I'm not sure…" She nodded and set to work on writing an owl to St. Mungo's. I started to head back to class and didn't give Wendy another thought for the rest of the day. After classes were over, Fredrick cornered me outside my dormitory while I was getting a color changing ink bottle for my homework.

"Hey there, beautiful," he said, leaning against the wall. I eyed him suspiciously. I haven't forgotten the bruises he gave me today. "Come on, I'm sorry about that Cassie. Will you ever forgive me?" His eyes were what did it. I finally gave up on giving him the cold shoulder and forgave him. He smiled sweetly and let me in the room. Erica casually sat on my bed examining my Sneakoscope . It was whistling in her hand, flashing, and spinning around like a top. As soon as Fredrick was out of sight, it stopped. I rubbed the wrist that hurt the most for a bit until I caught Erica staring at me.

"What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.

"Um…I got bit by a bug…" I mumbled. She narrowed her eyes at me. I sighed and pulled back my sleeve. She gasped at the bruise there. I pulled back my other sleeve. She gaped at the marks on my arms. Fredrick came back into the room. I quickly put my arms at my side and flushed.

"Do you know what today is?" he asked in his charming voice. I quickly recovered so I could answer.

"It's one year to the day we met. Our anniversary," I said. He twirled his wand and a bouquet of roses appeared. He handed them to me. I smiled.

"Thank you, but you don't have to give me anything," I protested gently. He stepped closer to me, his scent overpowering even the roses. I forgot everything: Erica, the roses, my homework…I even forgot I was a witch attending a magical school called Hogwarts. It was just him. His lips met mine, and a new kind of magic exploded between us. I responded immediately, my lips twisting in shapes that could only be described through experience. Fire burned hotter than it ever did when he kissed me, and the last of who I was fell away in that moment. An endless age later, we finally broke apart for air.

"Come on, I'll finish your essay for you if you promise me one thing," he teased. I waited for him to finish. "Just promise me that you'll meet me in the common room Friday at midnight." I nodded and went to fetch _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. I skimmed the first chapter until Erica complained that she was exhausted. I sighed and switched off my lamp, the only light on in the dormitory. I dropped into sleep at once with the roses in a crystal vase on my nightstand.

The next day was uneventful, but on Thursday, a Healer came into the Great Hall during breakfast. I was reviewing my schedule, nothing to worry about except double Potions with the Slytherins. I sighed, wondering why this happened every first week of the school year. I let myself be lead by the Healer to the hospital wing even though I knew the way quite well. She seemed to be all business today.

"I was examining this patient for any wounds that may have caused massive bleeding," the curly haired Healer explained, "and I found…nothing." She looked troubled.

"What's going on? Why is this Healer here? There's nothing wrong with me! I swear, I'm perfectly fine, I just need-"

"My name is Hermoine Granger, and I'm here to help you," she smiled. She turned to me. "You remember me, right?" I stared at her blankly. When have I seen her before? The only thing about her that seems familiar is her wand. The wand….a memory came to me…then I lost it in the fogginess of time. It was too long ago to remember clearly.

"Sorry, I don't," I said sadly. "You do seem familiar, though. Where have I seen you before?" I looked at her curiously.

"I believe I came by when your mother was ill several years ago. You were very young, so I'm not surprised you don't remember," she enlightened. At this point, Wendy seemed impatient to leave.

"Come on," she whined, "I want to go to class and catch up on old times with Erica!" I sighed, and looked over at the Healer apologetically before leaving the hospital wing with Wendy. A long day was ahead of us, and it did not start out prettily. I groaned, and headed down toward the dungeons. Professor Camelot was more than likely to be a bigger bother than ever this year. I observed the short, blonde, and eccentric man as I took out my necessary ingredients for the potion we would be making today: Exploding Fluid. I rolled my eyes and squinted at the instructions. Erica and Wendy were sharing my table, of course, and it looked like they had already started. I started chopping up roots and scooping them into the cauldron.

"The first main ingredient is…fang of dragon?" I looked at the board again. Sure enough, it looked like I would need a dragon's fang for this potion. I rummaged through the ingredients I had and came up with a small vial. Inside was a small curved fang that took up not even half of its container. I was about to dump it into my cauldron when Professor Camelot stopped me.

"No, no," he said, "First you need to do step two before you add anything," He walked away to observe the Slytherins. Over in the third row, second cauldron, I noticed somebody spying on Wendy. It was a sixth year Slytherin named Angelica. My eyes narrowed. I've known her since elementary school; we grew up together in the same neighborhood. I remember meeting her when moving in when I was about seven. I told her my parents were rich. This was essentially true, since at the time I was an only child. From that day on she teased and taunted everything from my looks to my abilities. I watched as her gaze traveled to Wendy. I had to distract Angelica. Knowing this would get me in detention for a week; I took out my wand and aimed it for her cauldron.

"Expulso!" I whispered, and a light shot out of my wand and hit Angelica's cauldron. The effect was instantaneous. It exploded, potion flying everywhere and exploding more things. Everything went haywire: students crawled under the desks for cover, potion seeping along the floor, Professor Camelot shouting instructions to anyone who would listen, and amidst all the commotion Wendy lost her hair tie and had to leave her hair down. I stuffed my wand back into my robes and hid under the table.

What did you do?" Erica hissed at me. I shrugged, enjoying the action. Angelica was cowering by the window, screaming about her broken nail. Her friend Laura tripped over a student and tumbled to the floor. Professor Camelot had cleaned up most of the potion at this point and was trying to restore order in the classroom. Most students had abandoned the lesson and decided that class would probably be discontinued for today. After fifteen minutes of cleanup, Professor Camelot returned to the front of the classroom to make an announcement.

"All right, class," he said gruffly, "because of difficulties, the lesson will not be continued. However," he added, "there will still be homework. I want twelve inches on the ingredients of Exploding Fluid. That will be all. Class dismissed." The bell rang right after he finished his sentence.

"You know what this means?" Wendy asked me after we had packed up our things and left the classroom. "No more Exploding Fluid in Potions. Hopefully that won't ever happen again." I grinned at her mischievously. She gave me a confused look. "What? Did you have something to do with that incident?"

"Well yeah, of course," I answered. "Angelica was being a creep so I took action. Not to worry, I don't think old Camelot saw me take out my wand," Instead of looking pleased, Wendy was annoyed.

"How irresponsible of you!" she chided as we headed for Defense Against the Dark Arts. "People could have been seriously injured, and all you were thinking about was yourself!" I rolled my eyes and pulled the door open. Luckily, Erica took this moment to interrupt.

"Guys, calm down and quit fighting. We have an important lesson today," We sat down in the back, our favorite place to be to pass notes. Professor Teddy Lupin was not here today, so whatever substitute we happened to have, they were bound to not notice any misbehavior. I started a game of hangman with Erica and Wendy.

"Guess a letter," I said as the door opened. A few straggling Ravenclaws stumbled into the room evidently confused. The substitute had not arrived yet.

"Erm…H?" Wendy suggested. I shook my head and scrawled the H off to the side on a scrap piece of parchment, and then drew a head in the middle. I glanced at the door again. Nobody else was coming in. I sighed and added another blank onto the parchment that I had forgotten.

"I'll go with the letter B," Erica said. At that moment, the door burst open, and Professor McGonnagall strode into the classroom. I dropped my quill in panic, and ducked down to the floor to retrieve it. When I came up again, she seemed ready to give some bad news.

"Students, I'm terribly sorry about the delay. You see, Professor Lupin was injured this morning by a dragon,"


	4. Chapter 4

Fredrick refused to keep his distance from me for the next week, insisting we stay apart for no more than two minutes at a time. By Friday, I was so overwhelmed and suffocated from my boyfriend, that I escaped to the bathroom during Transfiguration with Erica to have some alone time.

"I can't take this anymore!" I exclaimed. "He's suffocating me, and I don't get any time to myself anymore. Sure, I love him, but can't he give me some space?" Erica listened in silence, her hands behind her back. I thought I heard the sound of something dripping onto the floor for a few moments, but then the noise stopped. I sighed, my head in my hands now. My sleeve moved, ever so slightly, just enough to reveal a bruise. It was my newest one, close to the elbow. Fredrick had grabbed me there when I wasn't fast enough to follow him. An accident, nothing more, right?

"Where'd you get that mark?" Erica asked, suspicious all the sudden as she brought her arms out from behind her back. I heard footsteps approaching, light and confident. Fredrick was coming.

"Let's get back to class. Fredrick is panicking," I said quickly, pulling Erica along. She nodded, and let herself be dragged back into the classroom. Fredrick was in his seat. Who was it that had decided to head for the girl's rest room? Professor McGonagall glared at the two of us, but said nothing. I took out a sheet of parchment and quickly copied the last of the notes on the board before taking out my wand. Today, we were supposed to be turning our mice into rats as review from last year. I concentrated, but all my mouse did was turn slightly tan and grow a little larger. Still, I was faring better tan Simon's mouse, which simply exploded into flames. I snickered at his stupidity and turned back to my creature. I waved my wand randomly; no result. Then I remembered a trick Wendy had taught me: point your wand at the untransformed parts and keep it there until the transformation is complete. In less than a minute, I had a completely formed rat sitting in front of me. Professor McGonagall normally didn't give out house points, even if we really deserved them. But when something particularly pleases her, she will bend. She spun around and noticed my squeaking rat.

"Why, it looks like Cassie has gotten the hang of things around here," she commented calmly. "Ten points for Gryffindor. As for you Ravenclaws, aren't you supposed to be witty and bright? Tut, tut, I am disappointed in a majority of you. Ten inches on the uses of transforming animals into their related species, due next class." With that, she dismissed us. It would be lunch time right about now, so I headed down into the Great Hall to find something to eat. Wendy wasn't there again. I was starting to worry about her health, so after I ate my share of food, I took a sandwich into the common room. I gasped in surprise as I took in the scene before me.

Wendy was there in front of a mirror, her shirt halfway pulled up. Almost all of her ribs were exposed, and she looked even thinner than before. Her eyes were gaunt and haunted like the ghosts of Hogwarts. Her arms and legs were like toothpicks rather than limbs attached to her body. But all of that was a sideline compared to what I really saw. Around her tiny waist was magical measuring tape continuing to tighten itself around her gently until the numbers matched up. None of this made any sense to me until she looked up, saw me, and abruptly pulled her shirt down.

"Yeah I know, terrible, right?" she chuckled darkly. "But I'll look so much better after this new diet starts working. Soon, I'll be thin enough…" Her voice trailed off as she stared thoughtfully into the mirror.

"Wendy, you have to eat something," I pleaded, holding out the sandwich. "I can't stand to see you waste away like this, not after what happened last week." She stared at the sandwich like it was something she had never seen before, and then finally took it from me. She glanced at it for a second and then hastily set it on the table.

"I-I can't," she said. We had a break period next, so it wasn't like I was in a hurry or anything. Before I had learned anything about the wizard world, Mom had taught me some basics about the Muggle world. Things they think happen, the "myths" they tell over and over they don't even think are true. Some of the stories are true, and could happen to anybody. One of these things I was taught happened to be anorexia. I was shown pictures, videos, and movies about it. I shuddered at the recollection of those skinny, pasty people smiling into the camera. Some of them were witches, and some of them weren't. I could tell by whether the pictures moved or not, or whether the girls were surrounded by books on toadstools or algebra. I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around, but saw nothing.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, the sandwich forgotten. Wendy shook her head, but I could tell she wasn't entirely sure. Erica was nowhere to be found. Fredrick was still in the Great Hall. I wondered why he hadn't gone looking for me yet.

"Cassie," a voice said, making me jump. "It's me, don't be afraid," I turned around to see Fredrick two inches from my face. I stopped breathing, always awed by his beauty, his dark eyes, his hair…I forgot to ask him my question. He jammed his lips against mine, and all hope of recollecting any coherent thoughts went out the window. We broke apart, out breathing ragged, like we had just run around the Quidditch stadium all afternoon. I bravely gazed into his eyes, green and dark brown. He wouldn't dare hurt me in front of Wendy. Or would he? Thinking of Wendy brought her thin frame to the forefront of my mind again. What was I going to do about her? If she kept up like this, she would starve to death in a matter of days, or hours. I would say minutes, but I need to think realistically here. The sandwich sat there innocently, waiting for the next course of action. Ignoring Fredrick as best as I could, I picked it up again and held it in front of Wendy.

"At least take a few bites of this, to show me you don't want to completely starve," I said, giving the sandwich to her. She examined it carefully on all sides, and then took a tiny, hesitant bite out of the side. _Where is Erica?_ I thought as she took several more bites before setting the sandwich back down. I stared at her until she had completely chewed and swallowed it. Fredrick stepped toward her, looking afraid. He twined his fingers into mine as he observed Wendy carefully. I followed him as he continued to walk forward until he was close to her. He brought his free hand toward her waist and unraveled the magical tape. He pulled down her shirt and took out her ponytail so that her chestnut hair fell limply to her shoulders.

"That's better," he said, taking his hand back and reaching for his wand. "Let's go find Erica," We left through the portrait hole and back for the Great Hall. She wasn't there, so I started searching in all the empty classrooms while Fredrick looked in Professor McGonagall's office. Half an hour later, we met up in front of the second floor girl's bathroom. I opened the door and went inside. Erica was there, appearing to be waiting for something. The small window at the top of the wall was open, and she continually glanced up there and around herself frantically.

"Come on, come on, come on," she whispered, looking anxious.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked, getting a startled expression from Erica when she heard me.

"I have a special delivery coming in," she replied vaguely. At that moment, a tawny school owl went flying through the small window, carrying a parcel that just barely fit through the tiny space before being dropped on the floor at her feet. She eagerly picked up the package and untied its strings. She read the attached letter to herself silently. I left the bathroom, happy to see she was doing well and not going crazy or something. Fredrick took my hand and we headed off to the lake together for some alone time.

**Erica POV**

I started reading the letter again, refusing to believe it. My life was falling apart. Again.

_Dear Erica, _

_ I'm glad to know you are doing well in school. About me, well I seem to have come across complications of trying to visit you. My boss won't let me. Sorry. I know you really wanted me to be there for you, especially after what happened over the summer, but I can't. You can still write me whenever you want. I may not always answer, but I will eventually. This must be awful for you, and you can't even talk to your parents about it because they are busy all the time over the summer. It's strange isn't it, that your friends abandoned you over a silly misunderstood letter? Well, I'm still your friend. You can visit me during my break hours at St. Mungo's if you wish, but may I remind you the hours are crazy. So, don't forget, be true to yourself and don't let anybody tell you how to live your life no matter how right they think they are. I really wish I could come by, but security is really amped up here. I can't even wave my wand without being questioned. But anyway, if things are getting too unbearable, we can talk by Floo powder tonight if you want. I cleared my whole schedule just for that, because I can be nice like that. I hope you enjoy the little gift I gave you, as a reminder of all the times we shared even before you were introduced to magic. Maybe it will remind you of the early days…_

_ Yours truly, _

_ Lisa_

_ Dumstrang_

_ Seventh Year_

Tears streamed down my cheeks and splattered against the parchment, making the words run. I shakily opened the package to find not something of the wizard world, but something perfectly ordinary in the Muggle world. A snow globe. Lisa was three years older than me. So many memories…I took a closer look at the snow globe. Inside of it was a small house surrounded by little trees and birds. I shook it, making the snow swirl around and around like in a blizzard. I remembered the last time I saw her, all laughs and smiles. Didn't she see the pain underneath my perfect façade of cheerfulness? No, no. I couldn't hold back any longer. I took out my wand, holding it over my other arm. The one without any marks.

"Diffindo," I stuttered. The stinging slash of the cut was nothing compared to the turmoil rolling inside me. Blood flowed freely, streaming onto the floor. Relief flooded through me in return. Much better. Now, to find Wendy…

**Cassie POV**

I laughed at Fredrick's pitiful attempt to levitate the picnic basket and bring it over it me. It merely wiggled a little and was still again. When we are together, I can simply forget everything. How could I have gotten myself so worked up about him? He is so perfect, and nothing could tarnish my opinion of him. But the hour was getting late. We must have been out here for over an hour. I had homework to finish. But he is so funny and nice, and the sun was still out…it can wait. More time passed, but I scarcely noticed. I almost forgot my question. I managed to ask it before the thought slid away.

"Shouldn't we go back? It's getting late," I said dreamily, staring out at the water. My boyfriend yanked his hand back without any warning. We were so close together that I had nearly lost my balance when he jumped back.

"No," he answered "You can finish that essay tomorrow. Wendy and Erica are fine. No reason at all to return. You need to relax," I knew what he was trying to say, but I just wanted to go inside for a little bit. The heat was a little unbearable in these heavy robes.

"It's really hot out, and I want to go inside. It's also getting late," I stood up, but Fredrick painfully pulled me back down onto the grass. His eyes darkened momentarily, then returned to normal. I had no reason to fear. He wouldn't, no couldn't hurt me on purpose. I have myself convinced that he didn't have the ability to hurt me. But the smallest things will set him off these days. I was in no mood to stay on his good side, with Wendy still on my mind.

"I want you to stay," he said, his voice firm and forceful. I shook my head, pulling my arm from his firm grasp and starting to head toward to castle. He followed me, of course, and brought me to a halt. He spun me around, slamming his lips onto mine with more force than usual. His scent intoxicated my mind, caused me to lose my train of thought. I barely hung onto consciousness the whole time. When he stepped back, I turned away and sprinted for the oak doors just yards away. I tripped over his leg that happened to be sticking out, and I went tumbling to the ground. I was dragged back to my feet and shoved inside. I succumbed to his will, for the moment. He kicked my legs, causing me to lose my balance again. Fredrick half dragged, half carried me into a hallway by my already throbbing arm. I bit my lip so hard I almost drew blood. I refused to cry out in pain, knowing it would make things worse. He slammed me against the walls, pinning my arms there as he kissed me again. I made no move to fight back. When we broke apart, he kicked me in the stomach, causing all the air to whoosh out of me. I struggled to catch my breath as he scowled at me.

"Are you saying you want to leave me?" he growled.

"No," I gasped, still breathless. Suddenly, he was calm.

"Good, because you'll get worse if you do. By the way, I love you," Fredrick pecked me on the cheek and left. I coughed, trying to get in more air. Professor Longbottom passed by, and happened to notice me in my hunched over position. He ran over to assist me.

"Are you all right?" he asked, helping me to my feet. I nodded, breathing easier at last. I was just glad that it was over for now. It would never be over. The thought made me want to scream, but it also made me want to cry. Does he love me or not?

"What happened? Don't leave out a single detail, Cassie,"

"I…fell and had the wind knocked out of me. That's all," Why am I lying? Tell him, end this! But every time I thought about doing that, his dark angry eyes popped up in my mind. There was no way anyone would understand. Besides, once I do get word out, I'll probably be hurt worse. No, it's better to leave things like this. A secret.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up with a start before finally realizing that today was Saturday, September 14. That almost instantly brought pain. My little brother, if he had survived the accident, would be thirteen years old today. _Henry…_Tears splashed onto the sheets. I remembered where he had been buried, too. He loved Hogwarts so much, especially Hogesmade. Luckily, it was a Hogsemade weekend. I dutifully dressed in a black dress which stopped just above my knees and left my hair down. When I came out to the Great Hall, it was mostly deserted except for a few students here and there. I was either up really early or really late this morning. I sighed and grabbed some toast. I wasn't really hungry this morning. I just ate a few slices of toast and an orange before heading out to the village waiting for me. I passed Zonko's and the Three Broomsticks without giving them a second glance. At the very edge of Hogsemade was the Shrieking Shack, which everyone was afraid of for no apparent reason. It is nothing more than an abandoned house. But, people do love a good scary story, or reasons to be afraid. I stopped just past the Shrieking Shack at the end of the road. There lay the headstone with the inscribing I had shakily written just hours after my brother's death a year ago: **Henry, Sept. 14 1991- August 2****nd**** 2004**. I conjured flowers from my redwood wand and laid them on my brother's grave. After allowing a moment's silence, I stood up and left, my head bowed low and my eyes trained on the ground. My traveling cloak billowed out gently behind me, a black river of grief and mourning. I stopped suddenly when I sensed somebody behind me. I spun around, checking my surroundings warily. Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to me. I kept walking.

"Cassie?" Angelica approached me cautiously. "What are you doing here so early?" I hesitated. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry.

"I…had something to do. You do know what today is, right?"

"September fourteenth. Of course," she whispered in realization. "I'm sorry, I forgot," I shook my head and kept heading back for the castle. I didn't want any more reminders of what happened just a month ago. Angelica followed me.

"If you don't mind, I want to be alone for a while," I said without turning to look her in the eye. I entered the castle without any more interruptions.

_I think I should check the Owlery for any mail_, I thought, heading down a southern corridor near the entrance. I felt a sharp tug on my cloak, and I was pulled into an empty classroom.

"Where have you been?" Erica hissed. "Fredrick has been worried sick about you! Go find him and tell him you're fine before he goes nuts," She shoved me back into the corridor. I saw my boyfriend striding up to me, looking extremely angry. His eyes darkened dangerously, his fists clenched so hard I could see tendons pop on his slightly tanned skin, and I could swear that he looked six inches taller in his ferocious rage. I stood my ground, trying to keep my face nonchalant and casual, while on the inside of me something very close to panic started swirling around like a tornado. He pulled me toward him and kissed me fiercely. His anger fueled my desire, and I responded with equal boldness. I could hear students whispering in jealously and awe, the gossip spreading, but I ignored it all. When I could breathe again, he contemplated me.

"Where were you?" he asked calmly. I could tell he was trying very hard to stay under control, with all these people around. One wrong move and he'll snap.

"I was visiting Henry-"

"So there was a boy involved," he concluded. I nodded, taking a tiny step backwards. He stepped with me.

"You love him, and you chose to visit him without telling me," he continued, taking a larger step toward me as I started backing into the wall. I wasn't afraid. Not really. I had no reason to be. Yet. Every second that ticked by was stretched into what felt like an eternity.

"Henry was my _brother_," I said, stressing the word _brother._ Fredrick sucked in a breath, and let it out. The red glow of rage seemed to dissipate at that statement. His eyes cooled, leaving nothing but apologies behind. The worst danger has passed. Students continued on with their lives, uninterested. He gently took my hands and laid them in his.

"I…am so sorry," he choked, tears streaming in his eyes. "I was being stupid. I-I-" I put a hand to his mouth to stop his blubbering.

"Its fine, anyone could've made a mistake like that," I said softly. "But my only question is, _why_ did you assume I was cheating on you?" He shook off my reaching hand and started down the corridor; in the opposite direction I was originally headed. But did I care? No. As long as he never meant anything…those previous injuries and fears would also mean nothing. But, there was just something not right about this situation. The thought troubled me for a while, but I decided to let it go.

"So I…have homework I have to be getting to. I promise we can meet up later," With that, Fredrick left me alone. I secretly wished he would take his sweet time on finishing his homework. Owlery forgotten, I headed down for the Potions dungeon to ask Professor Camelot about my last grade I had gotten. I grudgingly pulled out my last homework, which had a large A at the top. It was the first time I had gotten anything below an E. More than anything that was what worried me. On my way to the classroom, I passed by Laura who was whispering something to a third year Ravenclaw. I caught a few words as I continued walking:

"…her boyfriend's been acting weird, so I want you to spread a rumor that she's cheating on him. Don't reveal your sources; just do as I tell you…" I rolled my eyes. Stupid gossip is still flying around like broomsticks. People need to find a new hobby. I pushed the door open and went into the Potions classroom without any more trouble. I stopped, though, when I saw Wendy sitting there in a stool talking to Professor Camelot. I remained very still and quiet.

"Well, don't you have some kind of health potion?" she was asking him. Professor Camelot looked at her suspiciously for a minute.

"You look mostly healthy to me, except you seem a little thin. Have you been getting enough to eat?" Wendy hesitated, preparing to lie. Then she looked up and saw me.

"I must be going," she said quickly, stumbling toward the door. I let her leave. I would talk to her about that later. For now, my grades are priority. I calmly stepped forward.

"Professor?" He turned toward me.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask you about-" There was a knock at the door.

"That would be my scheduled student for detention. Sorry, perhaps another time," His eyes softened with guilt as I headed for the door. In scuffled a lanky seventh year Hufflepuff who looked extremely bored and irritated.

_I'm putting off my grades for __**this**__ loser?_ I thought with disgust. I had a weird feeling that this day was about to get stranger than ever. Who knows what sort of things were in store for me? I shook my head and started for the common room. I really needed to get my homework done before anything else interrupted me. And who should do that very thing but Peeves, right before I made it to the portrait of your mom?

"Look, your mom has come to play!" he teased snidely. He threw a quill at him, but he just stuck his tongue out at me.

"I don't have time for this," I said heavily, trying to find a way around him. The poltergeist is one of the most annoying things I've ever come across, next to the gnome. Luckily, the Bloody Mary happened to be passing through, and he glanced threateningly at Peeves, who took off like mad. I snickered at his cowardice as I continued on my way to collect some parchment and a textbook. As I opened up _Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_, I heard someone stumble through the portrait hole and trip over a tapestry. I sighed and ignored the clumsy first year. I took out a spare quill and an ink well filled with multi-colored ink. I started by titling my essay: "Ten Reasons Why Transfiguration is a Controversy in the Muggle World." The abnormally short Gryffindor came into the common room, evidently puzzled. He looked around, a perplexed look on his face. Another first year chased after him, tapping the kid on his shoulder.

"Hey James, we were looking for you," the girl said. "What happened?" I scratched a few sentences on the parchment to pass the time.

"I don't know. I was just trying to help someone. She told me to come in here to get something, but I can't find it anywhere," I gritted my teeth. First years. They have no idea what _private conversation _means. I started writing again, slightly faster than before. I had almost a whole paragraph finished before the girl started talking again and breaking my concentration.

"Well…I'm going to the Owlery. I think I have a package coming in today,"

"You said that last week," the boy said sourly. I groaned and took my things to the library. These kids are so distracting. I didn't let anything else distract me on my way there, not even a Healer and Madame Pomfey running past me down the hall. I would think about those things later. I finished my essay in peace, despite Madame Pince's hawk like scowl following my every move. As I was closing up my textbook, James and his friend, Isadora, as I just remembered, went racing into the library. I rolled my eyes and let them pass on my way out.

"I'm telling you, she's a skeleton!" she yelled. "There's no way that's a real person!" James starting retching on the carpet, earning a shriek from Madame Pince for him to get out and go to the hospital wing. Though, I had to admit, who was the skeleton they were talking about? Wait a minute. A Healer with blond-streaked hair ran by me earlier, closely followed by Madame Pomfrey. They both seemed to be in a hurry, and extremely anxious. I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice I had passed through a ghost until I started shivering all over.

"Why, fancy meeting you over here, Cassie," Nearly Headless Nick remarked, contemplating me. I blinked in surprise, pulling my cloak around me for warmth.

"Hello, Sir Nickolas," I said politely. _Nearly Headless Nick_ just sounded like an insult to me, so I never called him that.

"How are you on this fine morning?" he asked, casually hovering beside me.

"Just splendid," I stuttered, trying to recover from the house ghost floating right through me. He didn't seem to notice, and continued following me down the corridor. "And you, Sir Nickolas?"

"The usual," he said offhandedly, trying to downplay his mood, "constant reminders about my death day, insults to my questionable state of beheading, and still being barred from joining the Headless Hunt. If only there were a Half-Headless Hunt, I would feel accepted as a ghost," He floated away sadly. I ran after him, ignoring the giggling portrait nearby.

"Wait! I have to ask you something!" I shouted. He paused, turning back to me.

"What is it?" he said impatiently.

"I heard some talk between some first years about a skeleton…I was just wondering if you knew anything about it,"

"Why would I?" he replied bitterly. "Nobody treats me with enough respect to properly pass news by me, so I tend to ignore it. Now leave me be," He went through a wall and left me alone. I walked down the corridor, feeling strangely alone. _Where is everyone?_ I wondered until I remembered that most everyone would be in Hogsmade shopping in Zonko's or looking at the Shrieking Shack while making up stories to scare the younger students. The only ones not allowed to go were first and second years, because they are too young. So I had the enjoyment of passing by gossiping second years from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, occasionally pointing at me and quickly looking away before they thought I noticed them staring.

"…shouldn't she be with him anyway?" The Hufflepuff girl asked in a whisper. The yung Ravenclaw rolled her eyes.

"Well, yeah, after what happened the earlier…it wouldn't be wise to leave his side," she responded, glancing over at me before looking back over to her friend again. None of it made any sense to me. I saw Fredrick waiting in a corner, and I went to go greet him.

"Morning," he said, nodding to me formally. "Did you have a nice time in the library studying? I froze. How did he know I was over there? But then I remembered I had told him I was planning to do some homework today…but how did he know I had chosen to come here to finish it?

"I…how did you know I was here?" I asked uncertainly, keeping several feet from him. "I never even told you where I was," He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.

"I followed you, because I wanted to make sure you weren't up to anything,"

"You need to stop being so paranoid, Fredrick. I'm not cheating on you, and I'm not planning to anytime soon," He stepped forward, blocking some of the light from the windows. I planted my feet in a defensive stance. He grabbed my hands and pinned them to my sides. He was strong enough that I didn't bother to squirm out of his grasp.

"What did you say?" he said in a low, threatening tone. "I need to stop _what_?"

"Being so paranoid," I repeated, taking a step back. "You're suffocating me, and I need my space," His hold on me slowly grew tighter. It didn't hurt, it was just uncomfortable.

"Are you saying you want to break up with me?" His fingernails dug deep into my skin. I ignored the pain and kept staring into his face. No need to react and give him the benefit of having power over me.

"N-no, I never said that-"

"Well it sure sounds like it. I'm keeping a closer eye on you, Cassie. You seem suspicious at the moment," I thought I could feel his nails breaking skin and causing me to bleed. He tossed me aside and stalked down the hallway. I stumbled into the wall. I walked after him, wondering where he was headed. Fredrick abruptly turned to the grand staircase and dismounted it. He stopped just short of the ground floor, hesitating at the last step. I ducked into the shadows. More students were walking around; some of them had returned from Hogsemade. I took this moment to take inventory of my injuries. I pulled back my sleeves and was surprise to see that there were tiny cuts all along my arms, five on each. Fredrick had dug so deep into my arms with his fingernails that he drew blood. That was the first time he had ever hurt me without being sorry for it, so he must have meant it this time. I let my sleeves fall back down as I entered the Great Hall for lunch. That could be where everyone is now. Sure enough, I saw many students eating, mostly Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs but I knew the Gryffindor Quidditch team had tryouts today. I wasn't surprised to see that Wendy was missing. Erica was there, searching the crowd worriedly. Her face brightened when she caught sight of me. I went to sit next to her.

"Oh Cassie, thank goodness you're here!" she exclaimed while I loaded my plate with food. "I've been sitting here looking for you, and wondering why you haven't been around,"

"I was at the library," I said, picking up a sandwich and taking a bite.

"What are you studying for? Wendy's in St. Mungo's under intensive care right now, and I've been waiting for you so we can go see her,"

"St. Mungo's?" I repeated, putting the sandwich back down. "What do you mean?"

"Oh yeah, she passed out at tryouts today, and wouldn't wake up,"


	6. Chapter 6

Of course, that was when Fredrick decided to drop in and interrupt us. He scooped up a few Bertie Bott's Beans and grinned at me.

"What are you girls up to?" he asked cheerfully. He popped a dirt flavored bean into his mouth and grimaced. Erica snickered.

"Not much," she said. "Any word about Wendy yet? I hope she is taken out of intensive care soon," He shrugged, carefully examining the next bean. It was gray with black flecks all over it. He took an experimental taste.

"Ugh," he complained, spitting it out. "Pepper. I hate these things. Well, see you later. I have to meet up with Skylar for a project that's due tomorrow," With that, he left with the rest of my sandwich. I sighed and glumly looked for something else to eat. Erica offered up the rest of her treacle tart and I gratefully took a few bites before I got too thirsty to take anymore. There was some pumpkin juice sitting at the spot next to me. I made a grab for it.

"Yes!" I crowed, draining the cup in one and slamming it onto the table. "Let's go ask Professor McGonagall if we can go visit Wendy now," Erica shook her head.

"Not possible," she said sadly. "I already tried convincing her, but she wouldn't budge," I groaned. Great. Wendy could be _dying_, and she was worried about whether we were allowed to go see her? I stood up and started to leave the Great Hall. She followed suit.

"Where are you going?" she called out after me.

"You'll see," I shouted back. I swiftly took out my Marauder's map (they were being sold everywhere now thanks to the famous Harry Potter) and scanned the area. There he was, out by the lake. I started for the large oak doors. I continued on out until I found the person I was looking for. Zane Deaton. He is a foreign exchange student from America that I heard about over the summer. His shaggy blonde hair was recognizable even from this distance, even though I have seen him once all year.

"Hey Zane, you think you could-" He looked up, and I stopped mid-sentence. His green eyes shocked me, as did his perfect features. I swallowed, trying to get a hold of myself.

"I…um…" I stammered.

"What do you want?" he asked evenly. I cleared my throat and tried again.

"Well, you see, I've heard a lot about you and was wondering if you could help us sneak out without getting caught. We wanted to visit a friend of ours," He stood up and brushed his hair back. I held my breath. He smelled like the lake, as if he had been swimming in it recently. Not that it was an unpleasant smell.

"All right, but it's going to cost you," he warned. "I need one of you to tutor me in Charms…because I'm about to flunk it," I nodded. Charms was a simple subject.

"Fair enough," I said. Erica, who had been quiet all this time, muttered a word of protest under her breath. I ignored her. "Now, can you teach us how to Apparate?"

**Wendy POV**

I struggled to sit up. It was very cold in here. Did someone turn the air on? I felt very weak. Where am I, anyway? I looked around and saw nothing but white. This didn't look like Quidditch tryouts. Uh oh, I thought, recognizing the uniform of the witch nearby. That's a Healer. Then that means…oh no. I'm in the hospital wing! The witch frowned as she looked through my records.

"You are anemic…" she said faintly, squinting at the water-soaked page. It was raining outside, so she must have gotten it from elsewhere, like the other building I could see through the window.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means you have insufficient iron. It says here you were born with it," That caused me to remember something…

_Flashback_

"…_**we can't just go right out and tell her," I overheard my mom say. "She has to adjust to this place first,"**_

"_**Well, we aren't her real parents, are we? She needs to know," my dad said. I froze. I'm adopted?**_

"_**This is the fourth foster home she has been in. I think…" I pulled the covers over my head. I didn't want to hear any more. A minute later though, my curiosity was burning. I hesitantly started to listen to the conversation again.**_

"_**Her father is a horrible man. I don't think she'd want to hear about him," my mom argued.**_

"_**But…what about Wendy's mother?" A slight pause. Then…**_

"_**I don't know. There is no record of her here after her second birthday, the year her dad got arrested," How could I ever call these horrible monsters my parents? They kept my past from me my whole life. I had to do something. I'll…I'll…I'll just stop talking to them. Yeah, that's it. No wait, I couldn't do that! Too obvious!**_

"_**Breakfast time, Wendy," my mom called out. That was when an idea started to form in my head…**_

"Oh," I mumbled, letting the memory fade. The Healer eventually left, but I wasn't alone for long. Cassie and Erica appeared before me out of thin air, startling me. I had never seen Apparition in action before. My parents always used the Floo network. I mean my _foster_ parents. Artificial. Not real.

"Hi, Wendy!" Cassie said gaily. "Just thought we'd drop in for a visit. How are you doing?"

"Fine," I mumbled, staring at my sheets. They never understood what went on with me. They never even bothered to ask why I didn't look like my 'parents.' Cassie's face fell as she took in my mood.

"Don't you want us here?" she asked in a disappointed voice. I shrugged, not bothering to look up.

"Come on, cheer up Wendy," Erica said. "I can't stand to see you like this…so thin and miserable," Really? She actually cared? Huh. She never said so before. Still, though, I didn't answer her. I knew I had to explain myself, but I just didn't know how to do that yet. I crossed my arms. Cassie came over by the bed and just sat there. That was it. She didn't say anything, but she took my hand in hers and kept it warm. It did feel nice to have some part of my body warm.

"I don't know how to tell you…" I started faintly after a minute. Erica started to look impatient, looking around the room. I looked over at Cassie. Her eyes were cast down and she seemed to be thinking about something.

"You could still die," she whispered. "Don't you know that?"

"I never meant for things to get out of hand," I said thickly, tears falling down my face. "I'm sorry," I started bawling. Cassie hugged me tightly. I hugged her back. When we pulled apart, her shirt was soaked.

"S-sorry," I mumbled, wiping away some stray tears. "I got your shirt all wet," She shrugged.

"It's okay. We'll help you get better," she said with confidence. She was always so sure of herself, I thought. Things weren't always that simple. But for her, I would try. Erica left the room, distracted by something. I frowned. Things were definitely not that simple anymore. But I couldn't be bothered by Erica's antics at the moment. I had a friend right here for me. That was all that mattered to me right now.

"Well… as long as you are so sure of that…" I let my voice trail off. I felt my mouth rise at the corners. I almost forgot what it felt like to smile. Cassie smiled back.

"I promise to come back soon," she said, leaving the room to go find Erica.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: SO SORRY that this story is taking so long. I don't know why it's getting so hard to write now. I promise I'll try to wrap at least one other fanfiction up before I start on the sequel to the other one. It's not even titled yet…and I'm stuck with a bunch of plot bunnies that have now swarmed my brain. But the good news is I think I can see where they might lead, so it shouldn't take too long to go through that long process. Edit: Finally figured it out, so Chapter 1 will be posted by next week I hope. Another thing. This story should be getting better now. I can tell the first couple chapters aren't as good, but I guess it's obvious that through experience writing gets better over time. Okay, I think that's everything. Yep. That is. So, here is Chapter 7…and I also don't own Harry Potter even though these are my own characters.**

Chapter 7

_Erica POV_

They say time heals all wounds. Well, what about mine? It seems I need pain more and more often now just to feel anything at all. Nobody suspects my long hours of disappearance, or even seems to miss me. Occasionally I go out on a school broom, fly to the roof and scream and shriek and cry until there's nothing left inside me. Sometimes I wonder if a person this broken deserves to be alive. Why did this have to happen to me? Why did _he_ have to exist and take away everything I ever knew and loved? She didn't have to meet him. She didn't have to bring him home. Now I live in constant fear every summer. One wrong word and the verbal abuse begins.

"_Worthless…useless…never, ever good enough for this family…ungrateful child! I provide for this family, you have no right to argue with me!"_

That was only the nicest parts. And of course I have to sit there and take it, silently screaming for help as my mother does nothing about it. What a vile, disgusting man she brought into this house. He has no right to-to…no…can't…or else he'll…I chocked on a sob and left Cassie to comfort Wendy on her own. She briefly glanced at me, but otherwise paid no attention. I wandered the halls, listening to the screams of the suffering patients. Sure, that was only physical pain they were experiencing. But when your heart is broken, you become selfish, and withdrawn. Nothing but the pain seems to matter. Tears streaked down my face, and I ran into the bathroom. The knife was in my pocket. I clenched it in my fist, prepared to cut. The red blood dripped quietly onto the floor, but the sting was only very mild. Because, actually, this felt better. There didn't seem to be another way out. There just wasn't another way, since no one else cared. But, wait, why didn't the bleeding stop? It usually stopped by now. Oh no. I've lost control. How much time had passed? I started to get dizzy. How deep was the cut? Why wasn't there a way…I collapsed onto the floor before I could finish that thought.

_Cassie POV_

"Erica…" I called out. No answer. I wandered the halls, searching the place from top to bottom. As I searched for my friend, I reflected on how little I was paying attention to her in recent weeks. That only made me want to find her all the more. I stopped outside the restroom, and paused when I thought I heard something. Shrugging my shoulders, I took a step forward. Another noise, closer this time. It sounded like quiet footsteps.

"Homenium Revelio," I whispered. A moment later, I could see a shadow out of the corner of my eye. Fredrick. Instantly, my pulse quickened. I hurriedly put my wand away and let him approach me.

"Come on, why are you avoiding me?" he demanded, his voice suddenly right next to me.

"I'm not," I said. "What makes you think that? We just spoke to each other this morning. You keep following me around, and it's starting to-" He twisted me around so that I could look in his face. His black eyes furiously stared into mine.

"I just want to protect you, because your friends aren't what they seem," he said. I narrowed my eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean? So they have a few secrets, what's the bid deal? There's things I'm not even willing to tell _you_,"

"And why is that?" he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously. His jaw clenched. For that, I had no answer. His hands were wrapped around my wrists so tight I was starting to lose feeling in my hands. My fingers slowly started to turn red, then purple. He pushed me into the wall next to the door, and I struggled to get free.

"Fr-Fredrick, you're hurting me!" I gasped. His fingernails were like claws, they dug into my skin deep enough to draw blood. He laughed darkly, and that was when I realized he enjoyed my pain, or causing anyone grief. I had to find a way out of this. I kneed him in the groin and ran into the bathroom, only to come to a sudden halt when I saw Erica lying unconscious on the floor. Her arm was soaked with blood, and in her left hand was…a knife? I stared at the weapon. She was very pale. Blood was pooled on the floor around her, but it looked like the bleeding had stopped.

"Tergeo," I said confidently. I used my wand to siphon the blood off of the floor. Fredrick ran into the bathroom, glaring at me. I spun around to meet him, only slightly afraid of what he might have planned. He pulled out his wand, but I was two steps ahead of him.

"**Tarantallgera!" I yelled just before gently picking up Erica and heading out into the hall. I thought of Hogesmade and Disapperated. When I could breathe again, I decided to perform a Levitation Charm on Erica so I wouldn't have to carry her all the way up to the castle. Before I could so much as take out my wand again, Professor McGonagall came out of the Three Broomsticks and saw me. I froze.** "**Ah, I see you're in a bit of trouble," she said softly, gazing at Erica. "Let's get her up to the hospital wing, shall we?"**** I sighed in relief. Later that evening, I went in to see her, hoping she'd be able to explain everything to me. On the way down the staircase, I spotted Zane, who had helped me earlier that day. I went over to thank him.** "**Hello, Cassie," he said, not meeting my eyes. His hair came down over half of his face.** "**You're pretty mysterious, aren't you?" I asked him. He shrugged, watching two mimes in a painting have a pantomimed argument over the last Chocolate Frog on the table. I couldn't seem to figure out what to say next, so I decided to wait for Zane to speak. After what felt like an eternity, he looked over at me.** "**Why are you talking to me? Nobody talks to me. Not even those who think that they are my friends speak to me more than the bare minimum. Wait, I know. You're here to thank me, and then you'll be on your way to forget about me like everyone else does. So, go ahead, say what you need to say and pretend thi****s conversation never happened," I started to speak, when I realized he was right. When I looked into his eyes, I could see the pain of loneliness there. That was when I realized he needed me.** "**I…what is it you want from me?" I murmured in confusion, perplexed by his complex and mostly unreadable expression.**** As he took a step toward me, Fredrick was suddenly there, jumping from above between us.** "**What are you doing?" Fredrick growled to Zane. "She is **_**mine**_**, you hear? Don't you be trying any funny stuff on her, or I swear I'll break your neck faster than you can say 'Avada Kervada.'" He coldly glared at the blonde stranger.** "**Have you gone bloody mad?" Zane spluttered. "I haven't done a thing to Cassie? Surely paranoia must be the disease you're suffering, because I assure you there's nothing wrong with **_**me**_**," His formality surprised me, but then I remembered he wasn't close to anyone so he must be forced to speak that way all the time.** "**How should I know you wouldn't do anything to her in the future?" he seethed, clenching his fists. I stepped around his imposing form so I could look him in the eye.** "**Fredrick, Zane is my friend. He helped me learn to Apparate and covered for me even through he didn't have to! He barely has any friends, so I might as well thank him for going to all the trouble for someone he barely even knows," Fredrick sighed, but relented.** "**Sorry. Guess I got a little carried away, Cass," he muttered. "I'll leave you to it, then," He strode off casually as if nothing had happened.** "**What the hell is your boyfriend's problem?" Zane demanded as soon as he was out of earshot. "Is he some kind of overprotective psycho or something?" I hesitated, remembering the intense look in his eyes at St. Mungo's.** "**Pretty much," I agreed reluctantly. He looked at me strangely. I innocently stared back. How much did that reveal? Does he know…? I remembered Erica and started for the hospital wing again.** "**Where are you going?" he called after me.** "**To sere Erica," I said. "Want to come?" He seemed surprised.** "**I don't see why not," he replied casually, as if this were something that happened to him every day.** A/N: Sorry. For some reason, this chapter was having issues…if it's still all screwed up let me know so I can try to fix it. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 10

WENDY POV

Today, after being stuck in bed for three days straight, I was going to try standing up. It made me want to vomit, I was about ready to collapse, but I did it. And for the first time in a while, I actually felt hungry. My meal tray sat there waiting for me. But as I started to eat, I could only stomach half a bowl of oatmeal before I started to feel sick. Maybe that was enough for now…why did I feel so nauseous? I ran to throw up into the trash can, and moaned loudly enough for a Healer to come running in to help me. She held my hair back and kept me cooled off. For the next hour or so I remained there, vomiting my guts out and feeling absolutely miserable. Then, as suddenly as it had come, the nausea vanished and I felt perfectly fine. The Healer made sure I could keep down a glass of water for the next ten minutes, then left the room. When I was sure that she was gone, I rummaged around under the bed for the small bit of Floo Powder I kept hidden for emergencies. Finally, I found it and headed for the fireplace.

"Hogwarts!" I shouted, throwing the powder into the fireplace. I smiled at the sight of the emerald flames roaring up at me. Stepping into the warm fire, I thought of how this used to frighten me, and now it was just so familiar. I was whisked off to my destination, and in less than a minute was spit out into the Gryffindor fireplace and between Cassie and Fredrick, who were having an argument.

"Well who says you can-" Cassie's voice broke off and she looked down at me. I scrambled to my feet and brushed myself off.

"Oh, look who arrived," Fredrick snapped sarcastically. "Can't we ever have a minute alone?" I ignored him and turned to Cassie, who was still speechless.

"Wendy," she breathed, recovering slightly.

"Hey," I said casually. "Thought I might drop in for a little check up, you know…where's Erica?" I looked around, but she was nowhere in sight. Cassie hesitated, biting her lip.

"I…you just got here," she said, changing the subject. "Why don't you get something to eat and change? I'm sure you could use a moment to relax," I opened my mouth to protest, but something in her eyes was a little off. Something that said that I wouldn't like what she had to say later on…I sighed and went off to find my trunk, wondering why I had suddenly gotten sick and healthy again.

ERICA POV

Oh, crap! I really screwed things up now! I truly had to explain myself…but how? Where would I begin? And would they even come close to understanding? Looking down at my arms, I wondered if this was justified. Did this really satisfy me, even the slightest? No. I frowned. Then what caused that moment of ecstasy, if not the bright red blood flowing across my skin? Then I realized. It wasn't the blood. It wasn't the pain. It was _feeling_ something. I felt so numb, so empty for so long now, even right in this very moment I struggled to find real emotion in my expression. And nothing came. All emotion had long since been stripped away from me, leaving nothing but an empty shell of a person. I sighed and left the hospital wing, sick of sitting there doing nothing and wanting someone to bring out those long hidden emotions inside of me. Can't someone undo this numb, hopeless feeling inside my heart, reawaken my ability to care about _something_? As I shuffled down the corridor, I was stopped by someone familiar. Wendy! She was pale and thin, but was happy to see me.

"Erica?" She seemed slightly confused, but very pleased.

"Hello," I mumbled dully. _I don't care. I just don't care anymore. Can't you see? Are you really that blind?_

"Cassie said you might be over here, and I just wanted to see if I could get any answers. She wouldn't tell me anything. What happened?"

"Nothing," I said.

"Don't give me that, you were in the hospital wing, for crying out loud!" Her eyes were soft with concern despite her harsh response. She did care…didn't she? It was hard to tell, with the mixed messages running in my head. _Nobody cares about you. They all hate you, you are ugly and will never amount to anything!_

"I can't tell you,"

"Sure you can, I'm your best friend, aren't I?" I started to talk, but was held back my more hammering reminders from HIM. More insults, more lashes of the whip, more pain…_You sick bastard! What makes you think you can butter me up like that to get what you want! I don't ever want to see your face again! No meals for a week! In your room! Now!_

"It's not that simple," I protested. "It's not like you care anyway, or any of you care. And it's not like…you're really my friends! I mean, you would've found out a long time ago something was wrong if you really cared, Wendy! But nobody cares! Nobody! I'm all alone, forced to deal with my step father every day over the summer! He calls me all these names and constantly punishes me, and you know what? I believe him. And then you guys are there to compliment me and give me encouragements without the slightest clue what goes on in my head, and I feel just a little better. But not by much, now do I? And the next summer it starts all over again, and for the past three years my spirits have been sinking lower and lower and lower till I couldn't feel anything anymore! But I wanted to feel something, and it worked for a while. But then Cassie found me unconscious of the bathroom floor with the knife in my hand, I'm assuming, because I ended up here. Don't think that it's that simple to solve al my problems, because the scars will never go away! I'm telling you! Don't look at me like that! I s-s-s-swear! D-don't!" Suddenly, I was crying. Tears streamed down my cheeks and splashed onto my robes. Wendy came up and hugged me tightly. After a minute, I calmed down enough to look at her again.

"Do you feel better now?" she asked quietly. I thought about it for a minute. It felt as if a part of the weight had been lifted off my chest and I could breathe easier now.

"Somewhat," I admitted. "You look starving. Let's go get breakfast while it's still hot, okay?" She nodded and we headed for the Great Hall together. We talked for a long time, sharing our own problems and mirroring concern for Cassie. I was starting to dislike Fredrick. Wendy replayed his sarcastic rude comment from earlier, and questioned it.

"Hm, maybe it was just a coincidence that he happened to say that. He probably didn't mean anything?"

"Erica, come on. Be realistic. He's a jerk. We know he could be hurting Cassie, and she might be hiding it from us in fear,"

"But we don't know that," I pointed out, setting my plate aside and putting my elbows there, manners be damned.

"That's what scares me the most," Wendy murmured.

**A/N: I'd like to thank everyone for the amount of response I've gotten thus far, and I should be wrapping up this one soon. So sorry once again for the slow update for those who have really enjoyed the story so far. Anyway, yeah. Thanks once again for all the reviews, flame or not. At least you cared enough to respond, right?**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Cassie POV

I didn't think I was going to get away from Fredrick this time, especially after the demands he kept giving. I wasn't about to let him have his way yet, so I just ditched him and ran off to find Zane last night. He and I have started to become good friends in the past week or so. The thing that worried me the most was that Erica and Wendy have been giving me worried glances all through Transfiguration. I was growing irritated. Fredrick seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth, but I knew he was here somewhere…lurking, waiting for just the right moment. I made sure I was never alone. But now, getting jumped seemed like a good idea to me.

"What is it, guys?" I demanded after class was over.

"We're worried Fredrick may be…" Erica started.

"Stalking you," Wendy finished. "And hurting you,"

"Remember the bruise you showed me on the first day, Cass?" Erica asked. "I don't forget these things easily,"

"What gives you the right to be so nosy? You two sure have been chummy since things have gone back to 'normal,'" I made sure that the verbal air quotes were obvious. Zane ignored us, heading off to his next class in total silence. Erica and Wendy exchanged a glance.

"There you go again!" I fumed. "Everything's fine. I think the major concern here is why neither of _you_ will tell me anything. Erica, you disappear for hours and tell no one where you've been and hardly speak to anyone. Wendy, I know you are still coming to terms with your issues, but shouldn't you talk to someone about it?"

"Cass, it's not that-" Wendy started, but I cut her off at once.

"And more than that, I don't think I know either of you as well as I thought I did. I wrote to both of your families, and I'm going to the Owlery right now to see what they had to say about your past," I stormed off in a huff.

Erica POV

"What a bitch," I muttered. "Not even the slightest bit of sympathy," Wendy rolled her eyes.

"Come on," she declared. "We don't need her as a friend anymore," I stared at her in shock.

"What do you mean?" I blurted.

"Don't you see? She doesn't care about us. So…we'll go to someone else about this," I shook my head furiously, my dirty blonde hair swinging wildly about.

"No, she does care" I protested. "She just doesn't trust us," Wendy continued down the corridor.

"Exactly," she called back. "We can't trust her either. Just forget Cassie ever existed," I halted. Not trust her was something I could do. But forget she ever existed…instantly, I felt a twist of pain. There was no way I could just bury six years of friendship as if they never happened.

"But don't you trust me?" I asked her, causing Wendy to turn back at me.

"Of course I do, Erica. I trust you to be on my side,"

"Side? This isn't a war,"

"It is now," she sang mysteriously. As I reluctantly followed her down the corridor, I wondered why the two of us looked so similar, if we weren't even related. Wendy didn't dwell on things like this, so I wouldn't be able to ask her. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she came to a stop.

"I have a secret to tell you…" she said, looking around for eavesdropping first years. When she was sure the coast was clear, she dragged me into an empty classroom and shut the door.

"What is it?" I asked. Her face was strangely unreadable.

"I'm your half sister,"

Cassie POV

Of course, how predictable, Erica and Wendy were skipping their next class. I felt an increasing annoyance that slowly boiled to a furious anger throughout Potions. How could they do this to me? They were the two people I trusted the most, about as much as Fredrick, until that is, he started to change and become totally unpredictable. But he was hardly my concern at the moment. I concentrated on setting up my cauldron and getting out the necessary ingredients for Shrinking Solution. As I took out a vial that I would use to collect a sample to turn in, the door opened and Erica burst into the room.

"Sorry I'm late," she stammered to Professor Camelot.

"It's fine, Miss Wutherheimer, just take a seat there next to…oh dear," He looked around the room. The only available seat was next to me. Just my luck. "Why don't you sit here for now?" Erica nodded, still breathless, and wordlessly took the seat next to me. I did my best to ignore her and looked up at the board to see the instructions. Neither of us spoke for the remainder of class. At the sound of the bell, Erica stopped me in the doorway.

"I have something to tell you," she said.

"Why should I listen?" I shot back coolly. "You betrayed me,"

"No. Wendy betrayed you. I just followed her, thinking I had no choice. But she has more secrets than she has been willing to tell us, and not just the anorexia she is recovering from,"

"Go on," I said slowly, walking with her to the place we usually meet up with Zane.

"Wendy and I are half siblings…in case you never caught the resemblance. More than that, I know why she was upset when you first met her,"

"Really?" I asked. "That question never occurred to me,"

"Me neither, until she told me. Her father was murdered,"

"By who?"

"No idea…she did see the killer…that night before she started Hogwarts,"

"Who?" I repeated.

"Oh…I doubt she remembers all the details. She was able to describe him, though. He was tall, with dark hair and angry eyes. He was very muscular and well-built. He had a knife on him, but no wand. And he was hardly much older than she was,"

_Dark hair…strong…_

"Oh God," I whispered in a strangled voice. "The killer was Fredrick," As if on cue, Fredrick appeared just down the corridor, staring at me.

**A/N: Oh would you look at that….a cliffhanger. I had a mind-numblingly average day. So, if you don't mind, a review or two would make it all better, like kissing a paper cut. But don't kiss my paper cuts. That's just weird. I'm not five anymore, okay? I suck it up like the rest of you people. At least I hope you do. Paper cuts aren't that big of a deal…jeez.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I stood there frozen in shock, did not even notice that he was dragging me away from everyone until we were almost outside. I didn't even feel the pain of him cutting off my circulation until I saw my fingers were turning purple. I was still so deep in shock at seeing his face that I didn't even react to how roughly he dragged me along up the road, heading for Hogsemade. Slowly, I could feel the fear trickling into my veins as I noticed the location he had chosen. Somehow we had gotten into the Shrieking Shack, a place no soul had entered since Harry Potter's time here at Hogwarts. The tales of his adventures were stories told to children all over the Wizarding World at bedtime now, instead of the old classics that my grandparents remembered. Finally, I used my free hand to dig down in to my robe pocket. I could feel my wand practically jump into my hand. Fredrick threw me to the floor, and then my wand skidded off to the other side of the room.

"Now, I'm going to teach you a lesson," Fredrick said, pulling off his shirt. My eyes went wide as I realized what he meant.

"Accio wand," I muttered. The wand jumped into my hand and I pointed it at him.

"Don't you dare!" he warned.

"Stupefy," I said calmly. He collapsed at once. I stowed away my wand and Apparated out of there. I ran toward the castle, searching for Zane, Wendy, anyone to help me. I could hear nothing but my heart pounding in my chest, my heavy breathing, and the sound of my feet slapping against the carpet as I ran through the corridors of Hogwarts. I shoved first years and seventh years alike out of my way as I sped on, not caring who cursed at me or shoved back. Finally, I found Zane in the library. I yelled his name and he looked up.

"Cassie? What's wrong? I saw you being dragged away by Fredrick…"

"He's after me!" I shrieked, cutting him off. "Don't let him-" I was pulled away again. He had me. Oh no. He was going to hurt me. Not again! I twisted and thrashed, but he had a firm hold on me. Zane stood up, prepared to confront him, but Madame Pince gave us all a furious glare that meant 'no fighting in my library or else.'

"Come on, its time I convinced you that I am who you want, not this…loser that doesn't have any friends," Fredrick said, leading me away from the library. There was nothing I could do about him taking out his wand and pointing it at my face, for he had already magically bonded me to him. Then he looked at me.

"Imperio," he murmured. Then it all went blank.

Wendy POV

"Where's Cassie? I wanted to tell her I was sorry," I said, piling my plate with food and eating as much as I could. Gaining back all the weight I had lost would be very hard, but I heard it was doable. Erica shrugged and took a gulp of pumpkin juice.

"Beats me," she said. "I last saw her being pulled away from me and Zane by Fredrick. There's lots of secrets around here, you know?" I nodded in agreement.

"Looks like Cassie's not the only one with them," I said, thinking of Fredrick and the murder he committed just before I started at Hogwarts. I was just an innocent first year then. My father was a respectable man, liked by many wizards all around.

"Yeah, can you pass the potatoes? I didn't get enough," I passed the bowl her way, and she took it from me.

"So, what is it exactly about your mom's boyfriend that bugs you so much?" I asked after a minute.

"Everything," she responded. "He never appreciates me, never thinks I'm good enough at everything…and the worst part is he has it all drilled into my head so well that it constantly echoes in my head all day long, and all night until I go to sleep. He says, all the time, that I have no real friends, no one loves me, no one will ever love me…"

"Oh, I remember you saying that now," Zane wandered into the Great Hall and grabbed a roll of my plate, shoving it into his mouth.

"Hey!" I protested. He quickly chewed and swallowed the roll so he could answer.

"Sorry, I'm starving," he said, sitting down next to me. "Have you seen Cassie? She came into the library, panicking about Fredrick and then he came in…I haven't seen her since,"

"Okay, this guy is starting to become a problem," Erica grumbled, stirring her mashed potatoes around on her plate. I looked down at my own food. I still had half my fried chicken left to eat, but I wasn't hungry anymore. Fredrick walked into the Great Hall, looking all smiles, as if he had just been given good news. Cassie followed him, looking as if she were sleepwalking. I narrowed my eyes at Fredrick, trying to get answers out of him. I had been practicing Ligamency lately, and now I could test it. I concentrated on Fredrick's face and suddenly I was inside his head. I watched the last memory, of him magically chaining himself to Cassie and performing an Imperius curse on her.

"You monster," I spat, leaping to my feet.

"I have no idea what you mean," he said innocently. "I haven't done a thing. Cassie chose to be with me, and there's not a thing to be done about it,"

"Who's going to believe that crap?" I demanded.

"Surely whoever you think would find out about who your father really was," he whispered, smirking when I felt the shocked expression on my face. Erica was unfazed, and the only one still sitting. She calmly gazed at Fredrick.

"Honestly, how long do you think you're going to get away with this?" she asked in a bored tone.

"As long as I want, I'm friends with the staff," he bragged.

"All of the staff?" she continued.

"No, but I'm friends with who matters," he replied. "Look, why is this so important? Everything's back to normal, so we can all be happy," Erica shook her head.

"What about McGonagall, huh?"

"So what? She's just some old lady with a pointy hat. She doesn't have any power. Let's get outta here, Cassie, they're being all nosy,"

"I guess this old lady will be giving you a detention," Professor McGonagall said, a stern look on her face. "In my office, now. Leave your little friend behind, she doesn't need to come along," Fredrick sighed and waved his wand so fast the professor didn't' see anything, only him stowing it hastily away. Cassie blinked rapidly and looked around.

"What happened?" she murmured, a confused look on her face. Zane went up to her.

"Cass, you all right?" he asked. She frowned, and shook her head.

"I can't remember!" she said. "I can't remember anything after I left the library. It's all fuzzy and distorted. How long was I here?"

"A few minutes, not long," I said to her. "I used Ligamency, Cassie, and I found out the truth. He put you under the Imperious Curse. We'll make sure he gets caught with all his crimes, don't worry,"

"All of them?" She pulled back her sleeves, and I gasped. Bruises, old and new, colored her skin all over the place. She revealed cuts on her stomach, her neck, and her arms. It was almost as if he had used his fingernails like claws and dragged them across her skin.

"Good God," Zane chocked.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Can't you just expel the jerk?" Zane whined. Professor McGonagall shook her head. I felt my hopes sink. There was no way we'd be able to get rid of him now…I huffed a sigh and stormed out of there. I had to settle this myself, the old fashioned way. This had been going on for another month or so. I have officially lost track of time, between the fear and the pain I've had to go through. Fredrick was there, waiting for me. He smiled, thinking had given myself up at last. He pulled me aside. There would have been no time to resist, no time to scream for help or get away. Life was so cruel to me like that sometimes. My breathing quickened as he fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. This wasn't happening, this wasn't happening, I chanted in my head. The shirt fluttered to the floor. His chest was fully exposed to me, and I was shocked by his large muscles. Did he work out over the summer or something? Fredrick stalked toward me, his blue-green eyes glinting mischievously. I tried to take a step backwards, but it felt like my feet were glued to the floor, and my eyes couldn't drift away from his. As if I had no choice. I was trapped in his icy eyes and evil smirk.

"It'll be over before you know it," he purred, taking my hand gently. Well, gently for him, anyway. It was still rough enough to leave fresh marks on my wrist later on. He was never satisfied without leaving some kind of mark on my skin or the look of fear in my eyes, making him believe he was the master and I was his slave. To me, he was just nothing but a monster. Why I remained so silent and stoic as he reached to rip off my shirt was beyond me.

"I'm going to tell you a little secret," he breathed into my ear. I shuddered as I recognized the smell of fire whiskey on his breath. "I've killed people. A lot. And I've never left a trace…though I never used magic," My knees began to shook. There was no way this was happening to me! I shut my eyes tight, trying to think of a way out of this as he got closer and closer. But then his body pressed against mine and it was already too late. I was pressed flat to the floor and he was on top of me. I had no idea how I got there so fast. All I remembered was a tilting sensation and his eyes glinting in triumph, and then it was all too much. I let all my systems shut down, one by one. I slowed my breathing and listened as my heart rate slow down to the point where a pulse would scarcely be detected. In this state, I could think very clearly. Though time moved as if it was traveling through gelatin, I was able to process what was going on around me. Fredrick was bringing a knife to my throat. He was planning to take me hostage. I took a deep breath and suddenly snapped out of my strange trance. I leapt to my feet and suddenly realized…I was terribly exposed. I had no choice but to submit to him. Fredrick dragged me into a closed and locked it.

"Stay in there," he growled. "You better not move," I managed to find some robes and pull them on. There was a small relief of being covered up again, but I still felt used and unbearably horrible inside. I shivered and curled up on the small space of floor available to me. I had mistakenly left my wand in my shirt pocket. I'd probably never see that again. There was a knock on the door.

"Cassie? You in there?" I didn't answer. I wasn't sure if I could. The door slowly swung open, and Erica stared down in shock at me.

"I found her!" she called. "Wendy, help me get her into her clothes," I allowed my eyes to slide shut temporarily. I couldn't handle this anymore. They'd look at me, and see what a used tool I was. When I opened my eyes, I was in the common room, fully dressed and sitting in a chair. Erica anxiously peered at me.

"What did he _do_ to you?" she exclaimed.

"I think you know the answer to that one," I said.

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, just had to get a quick update in…this story is taking forever!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I forgot to make it clear in the beginning of the last chapter that it was all in Cassie's point of view**

Chapter 12

Cassie POV

All I could do was stare in shock at Fredrick. His wand had been broken in two. The statement had been made. It was over. Finally, it was all over. I was half laughing, half crying in Diagon Alley after court had ended that day. Wendy gave me a small smile of reassurance, and that helped me calm down a little.

"It's over," Zane said, speaking the thought that had been running in my mind over and over for the past hour.

"Yeah, it sure is," Erica agreed. "And the year is almost over already too…seemed like yesterday the year was just starting,"

"Its only March, Erica," Wendy reminded her. "The year still has some ways to go," She merely shrugged and continued heading for the place we usually hung out in Diagon Alley: The Leaky Cauldron. Many witches and wizards came and went through there, obviously, and a few of them were quite entertaining to chat and have drinks with. Surprisingly, Fredrick was rarely seen here.

"I've been meaning to check up on you guys…how's the therapy working?" I asked. They glanced at each other for several long moments. Not too long after Fredrick had attacked me in the hall three months ago, they had started to go to counseling upon my request. Within weeks I noticed signs of improvement. Erica was much happier around people, and Wendy was less withdrawn and moody.

"I think you know the answer to that one," Erica said, grinning at me. We walked into the Leaky Cauldron and ordered our usual round of butter beer. Zane was being unusually quiet, but then again he was highly unpredictable.

"I was thinking, what do you think's going to happen to him now?" Zane asked thoughtfully, taking a sip of his butter beer. All of us were silent for a minute as we thought about that. Finally, I shrugged and just let the matter drop. As far as I was concerned, he never existed. But there was that nagging feeling that wouldn't go away. They just let him go, with hardly more than just the punishment of turning him into nothing more than a Muggle. But he could still come into Diagon Alley and get a new wand. He could still come here and find me. At this, I started to become very frightened. Fredrick still had the power to invoke fear, and he wasn't even anywhere near me. Or was he? I could sense another familiar presence in the Leaky Cauldron besides my friends. Suddenly, my eyes locked on too-familiar blue green ones. He stared, I stared. Zane was the first to notice my terrified face, and followed my gaze. Just as soon as he showed, he was gone. But I knew Fredrick was still here, watching me. Waiting for his next opportunity to strike. Would it ever really end, or would peace be in my imagination? I looked over again. He was STILL THERE. My breathing started to quicken in panic. Fredrick slowly approached us, looking all casual. My fingernails dug into my palms and I felt as if I was glued to the seat I was in.

:Oh, God, oh God, oh God," I whispered, trying to get a hold on my increasing heart rate. Still he came closer. Finally, Fredrick stopped and looked straight at me.

"Cassie, long time no see," he said.

"I…what are you doing here?" I hissed under my breath.

"Thought I'd drop in and check up on you, since we've been apart for much, much too long," My eyes flickered to his hands. No wand. He was unarmed. I relaxed, but only slightly, because I remembered that he rarely used magic to hurt me the way he did. Zane suddenly leapt up and punched Fredrick's jaw. He stumbled backwards into a table, clutching his face.

"All right, we'll settle this the old fashioned way," he muttered, rolling up his sleeves. "No wands allowed, anything else goes," Zane nodded and balled up his fists to defend himself. Fredrick ran at Zane, but he neatly dodge out of the way and responded with a well aimed kick in his gut. Wendy was staring at them in horror, Erica looked annoyed, and the bartender just ignored them, used to fight like these. Unthinkingly, I stepped toward them. I would probably regret it, but I had to stop the fighting. This was somehow all my fault, indirectly. But there had to be a way to fix all of this, without violence, without anyone else getting hurt, without me having to live in guilt for the rest of my life over everything. I jumped between Fredrick and Zane, and they came to a sudden stop to their fight.

"Stop!" I yelled. "This is completely unnecessary. Obviously Fredrick wasn't planning to hurt me, he hasn't even done anything yet. Maybe he's changed. I think we should listen to what he has to say before we do anything else," Fredrick glanced between me and Zane, then suddenly took off. He did not come back. Wendy and Erica looked at me in shock. There was total silence in the Leaky Cauldron. Several wizards were staring at us.

"Let's get out of here," I muttered, walking over to the door and pushing it open. I was quickly followed by Zane and the others. When we were all outside, Zane was the first to speak.

"That was either really brave or really stupid of you back there, Cassie," he told me. "But I really admire that," He leaned down and kissed me in the lips. I was so surprised that my eyes remained wide for a second, but then I let them slide shut and just went with the moment. Finally, he broke away.

"Whoa…" Zane said. An extreme understatement. His intense green eyes never left mine as I slowly calmed down enough to say something.

"I thought we were just friends," I teased. Erica and Wendy had faded into the background. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just a moment of impulse," he mumbled. "Don't take it personally, Cass," I shrugged and decided to let it go. So he kissed me. Not like it meant anything. We all laughed and joked about it for hours afterward, with Zane blushing and mumbling apologies the whole time. Eventually, though, we had to get back to Hogwarts since none of us felt like going home. It was well after dark when Wendy and I settled down in the common room. Erica played a quiet game of wizard chess against Zane.

"Cassie?' Wendy said.

"Hmm?" I murmured, half asleep from staring at the hypnotizing flames for so long.

"What if he had gotten you pregnant or something? What would you have done about it?" I looked over at Wendy. She nervously twirled her brown hair, waiting for my response.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "It wasn't something that came up in my mind," I winced at the memory of Fredrick straddling me in the deserted corridor when I was completely defenseless and vulnerable. Erica moved a knight, which promptly took out the nearby rook, smashing it with more force than necessary.

"Check," Zane called out. Wendy sighed, her gaze moving toward the window. I squinted at the darkness. Was it my imagination, or was a white object moving closer and closer and closer…? A second later, a snowy owl smashed into the window. I ran to rescue it. Around its leg was a rolled up sheet of parchment. I quickly unfurled the parchment.

_Cassie-_

_Enclosed here is the answer to everything. The truth behind Erica's past, the reason why Wendy stopped eating suddenly, and Fredrick's anger issues. I would've sent this sooner, but I knew this would be traced by Fredrick. And you know how angry he gets…anyway, here. It took a lot of asking around and observing. But I guess that was the advantages of being in everyone's shadow. Nobody was suspicious by my questions or constant tagging along. You know me as that quiet girl, I bet. The one you'd speak to only when you absolutely have to. I'm also close with Angelica. I can't reveal my true identity. It is too risky, I'm spies for many, many sides in the upcoming war and nobody knows who I really answer to. I prefer to keep it that way. Just read the attached sheet, it shouldn't take too long. I better go, before they find me._

_- K. R. L._

I scanned the attached parchment, but most of the information I already knew. But there was something on Zane, too. Curious, I took a closer look.

_**Zane was the toughest egg to crack, but what I was able to determine was that he was a loner, and not by choice, it appears. Everyone is afraid of him. Discovered Cassie talking to him. Wonder what's up with that…oh, Apparition. Is she just using him like everyone else. LATER OBSERVATIONS: She is growing closer to him. I thought wrong. Zane is happier now. Zane has a mysterious past, it seems. I can't get any reads off of him just by looking at his face. I'm clairvoyant, but he is a hard person to read. I suppose he will forever remain a mystery.**_

"Huh," I muttered, setting both sheets of parchment aside. The owl hooted and promptly flew out of the window. Zane looked up at me.

"What?"

"Nothing…" I felt my cheeks grow warm as he stared at me for longer than normal. "Nothing at all," He rolled his eyes and told his king to move one step to the right.

"One step to the right? What's that supposed to mean?" the king demanded in a small voice.

"You are so stupid," a bishop said. "One step to the right…you're supposed to give the coordinates!" I snickered and focused my gaze on Erica. Her face was relaxed as she studied the chess board. Though underneath the surface I could still read lines of pain, they were less severe than they were at the beginning of the school year. Wendy had fallen asleep in the armchair. She had gained some weight since starting therapy, and none of her ribs were exposed anymore. I looked down at my arms and stomach. No bruises colored my skin anymore. I didn't bear a single mark from my times with Fredrick. Though the memories were still fresh and painful, the scars had gone from rubbed raw to slowly healing. The one who seemed to help the most with that was Zane. He made me forget Fredrick ever even existed. He showed me what really mattered in the world, and taught me that it didn't matter what other people thought. As I settled into the other armchair near Wendy, I considered the future. With all the other issues out of the way, the rest of the year had the potential of actually being enjoyable. Next summer would be out last summer of freedom. But for now, we just had this moment, a moment in time I would never forget, or regret.

**A/N: YES! Another story is finished! I'm on a roll! Yeah! WOOO HOOO! Okay. I've calmed down now. This was the fan fiction I have had the most difficulty with, so…yeah…I'm extremely happy that this was finally finished after working on it since June.**


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